Repair near oil well on Giles Island causes small fire and lots of thick, black smoke
Published 12:26 pm Monday, February 19, 2024
- Photo shared on social media of a cloud of black smoke over Giles Island.
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GILES ISLAND — A relatively minor incident that occurred when crews were working on an oil well on Giles Island at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday led to a huge plume of black smoke that left many curious as to what was burning.
Kevin Wilson, owner of Black Jack Oil, said workers were doing some repair work to a transfer line when a spark ignited paraffin inside the line.
“The fire is out. There were leaves and driftwood that caught fire, too, but it was contained,” Wilson said.
No one was injured during the incident.
He said the incident has been reported to the state’s oil and gas board. Wilson said fire never reached an oil well itself.
The burning paraffin and debris are what caused the thick black smoke.
“We didn’t respond,” said Concordia Fire District No. 2 Chief Vick Brown, adding at the time that he wasn’t sure what had caused the smoke.
The following post was made on social media asking about the smoke.